Feedback From my Cross-Cultural Conversations

On April 16, 2022, I launched an online program I call Cross Cultural Conversions, an extension of my work as a cultural consultant. I conduct these talks every Saturday, from 10:00 to 11:30am US Central Time, on various issues raised my books and beyond.

The network of participants is growing, the feedback from them is positive and enthusiastic. Apart from writing comments, participants keep coming again and again to these conversations, and they spread the word.

For example, on May 7, Kelly, one of the participants, posted on her Facebook page a nice photo of my books, together with the following message:

Beautiful afternoon to sit in Miss Samantha's yard! I'm reading work from Joseph Mbele, suggested by my friend Anita. Joseph is leading a recurring Zoom call on Saturday mornings (10 to 11:30) with intriguing conversations, focusing on different topics. My inbox is always open, I'd be happy to share the next Eventbrite link. 

Invitations to these conversations are posted on my facebook page in advance of each session. 

My Dream: Cross-Cultural Conversations

http://dlvr.it/SMpmKp

Tour Guides at my Arusha Talk

On January 8, 2022, I gave a talk in Arusha on "challenges of cultural differences," a topic I have dealt with for years under the umbrella of Africonexion: Cultural Consultants.

The organizer and hostess of the event was Ama, an African American woman residing in Arusha. People from different nationalities attended, but mostly Americans and Tanzanians.

Among the Tanzanians who attended were toyr guides from a company called Rift Valley Cultural Tourism, based in Karatu. The director had obtained copies of my Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences and shared them with the tour guides.

When they hear that I was scheduled to give a talk, they decided to attend. We were happy to meet.After the talk, we took a photo, and some of them are seen holding my book. Tour guides are among the people who find my book indispensable. In 2007, for example, the owner of Arusha-based J.M. Tours, a Finnish woman, got copies of the book for her tour guides, and they liked it very much, as I reported here.

I salute Rift Valley Cultural Tourism for discovering and utilizing this resource, and I am ready to continue collaborating with them. Besides my books, which are vailable online, tour guides and other people can follow my YouTube channel.

Books Available in Kenya

These books are available in Kenya. Contact Wairimu, tel. 0742 765 588
 

A Tanzanian Writer's Comments on "Matengo Folktales"

A few weeks ago, I got to know Corona Cormak, a Tanzanian writer of children's books based in the Czech Republic. We have never met, but have been reading each other's woks.  This week, on her Instagram page, Corona wrote the following comments about my Matengo Folktales.

I will start with a big smile. This book Matengo Folktales by John Mbele @africonexion. Took me way back into those days of story telling. Three stories in this book were so vividly. The Monster in the Rice, The Tale of two women and the Tale of Katigija. The sound of the songs in these stories is what I am still trying to remember. These songs were always sang with everyone when the stories were narrated. This is what is missing in story telling these days. We let our children just listen to the story without them taking part.

However, I am quite shocked with the amount of killing in every story. At least I don't remember the killing part. For example the Tale of two women, I remember this part when the woman was told to lick the wounds. And in Katigija Tale I remember the grandma singing when she brought the food to the child and the Monster in the Rice field, I remember how the children kept on disappearing.

My son was shocked when I told him The tale of Monster in the Rice. He was like, what a story, what a family 🙈🤣
Beautiful written and I like the comment section. This helps one to understand why these stories were what they were.
Now I need someone to sing those songs for me 🥳🤗

 

My Visit to the Catholic University College of Mbeya

From January 27 to 29, 2022, I was at the Catholic University College of Mbeya (CUCoM), a constituent college of the Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT). I had been invited to give a talk titled "Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences."

As it turned out, my two day visit was filled with engagements. I had extensive conversations with individual professors, such as Dr. Ernest Kitindi and Dr. Joshua Madumula, and a special meeting with the College principal, Dr. Romuald Haule, which focused on establishing links between the CUCoM and U.S. colleges and universities.

During my talk, I commended the Catholic University College of Mbeya for inviting me to talk about cultural differences, a topic that is vital in our world which is increasingly becoming a global village. CUCoM's dream of establishing links with foreign institutions will involve thinking about, and dealing with, cultural differences at many levels. With this in mind, I gave the CUCoM library copies of my two books: "Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences" and "Chickens in the Bus: More Thoughts on Cultural Differences."

I will write more about what I learned and what transpired during my visit. For now, I just wish to say that I was inspired and gratified by the whole experience.

On Martin Luther King Jr.

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